This was Las Vegas yesterday morning, where the 76ers were on a bus to an 8:30 shootaround before last night's summer league game against the Los Angeles Lakers.

This was Thaddeus Young, the Sixers' prized rookie of last season, speaking on a cell phone with two reporters from the Philadelphia area. Upbeat? Definitely. Realistic? That, too.

The Sixers' minicamp and five-game summer schedule is serving primarily to provide some additional teaching experience for Young and second-year big man Jason Smith, and to begin the indoctrination of Marreese Speights, this year's first-round pick.

Asked whether he finally feels like a veteran, Young laughed and said, "Summer league, I do."

"It's been going pretty good so far," Young said, even though the Sixers dropped their first two games, 96-89 to the Golden State Warriors and 99-85 to the Denver Nuggets. "It's definitely a long period of time that we're here. A lot of guys are getting tired, but we're pushing through it. This is our livelihood, so we have to push through it."

Young touched on several subjects, including:

His early impression of Speights: "He's pretty good. He's been going out there, just playing as hard as he can. We've been talking to him, telling what he has to face [during the season]. I played all last season, so I know."

The signing of unrestricted free agent Elton Brand: "I was very enthused about it. Me and Jason [said] 'We just got so much better now.' Now we can actually play a halfcourt game . . . I was surprised. He turned down a lot of money from Golden State to come with us, and I think that's great 'cause I definitely wanted to play with him. I was definitely hoping we got him, and we did."

What he knows about Brand: "I've been watching him for like 4 years. I know he's a great low-post scorer, he can rebound the ball, he's very aggressive. He's a bit undersized, but he still goes out there and gets the job done."

How he sees his own role developing: "I'm definitely much more aggressive. I know certain ways to get to the lane and get fouls. I know a lot of other things just as far as going out there and playing the game. I'm actually able to think the game instead of just playing it. That was one of my main focuses, not just running up and down the court like a chicken with his head cut off."

Six shots

Rodney Carney, traded to Minnesota with Calvin Booth, cash considerations and the future first-round draft choice acquired from the Utah Jazz in the Kyle Korver deal, is playing for the Timberwolves in the summer league. "The way I look at is, they traded me and Booth to get Elton Brand," Carney told the Minneapolis Star Tribune. "So I say I got traded for Elton Brand. You put it that way, it sounds pretty good" . . . The Sixers got their first summer league win last night, defeating the Lakers, 81-73, with Marresse Speights, Jason Smith and Thaddeus Young scoring 16 points apiece. Saint Joseph's Pat Calathes, who was not selected in the NBA draft, played nearly 5 minutes for the Lakers but did not score . . . The Sixers will complete their summer schedule today against the Washington Wizards and tomorrow against the Toronto Raptors. *